Washington Huskies (3-3) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-2)
Saturday, October 17, 7:15 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Arizona State -6.5

Sam’s Take (28 – 13):

Washington has lost five straight to Arizona State, but I believe the Huskies have a great chance to win in Tempe this Saturday. It will be very interesting to see how Jake Locker and the UW offense perform against an aggressive and violent ASU front seven.

This has the look of a game that will require Locker to utilize his running ability for the second straight week (92 yards rushing vs. UA), because the Devils will likely force him out of the pocket throughout the game.

If there is one area where the ASU defense is vulnerable, it is in the secondary. I am certain Steve Sarkisian realizes this, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him call a few deep passing plays early in order to utilize a gifted (yet strangely inconsistent) UW receiving corps. ASU is not built to play catch up, and a couple of quick scores will put U-Dub in great position to win. Running the ball into the teeth of the Devils D is a bad idea, so utilizing misdirection plays against a defense that often over pursues will also be a key for Washington.

Arizona QB Nick Foles picked apart the Washington defense last week, but Nick Holt’s unit tightened up in the red zone. Danny Sullivan and the ASU offense have shown no potency on offense so far this season, and there is little reason to believe anything will change this week (unless QB Brock Osweiler has an unlikely breakout performance in a reserve role of course). If Holt’s unit can continue to be opportunistic, especially inside its own 20-yard line, the Huskies should handle the Devils offense without much problem.

Washington has not won on the road in a long time (Nov. 3, 2007), but I think this is the week that they get over the hump.

Prediction: Washington 24 – Arizona State 17

Washington Player to Keep an Eye On: WR James Johnson - Johnson was quiet last week, but he should be a key contributor in the passing game against ASU.

Arizona State Player to Keep an Eye On: LB Vontaze Burfict - Burfict has already lived up to all of the hype. Now the freshman phenom will have to help contain Jake Locker when he decides to run.

Dave’s Take (31 – 10):

Saturday’s game between the Huskies and Sun Devils matches strength VS. strength when Washington’s offense takes the field against ASU’s defense, and weakness VS. weakness when ASU’s offense faces Washington’s defense. So who gets the edge?

Washington ranks 106th nationally in total yards surrendered, giving up over 400 yards a game. They have done a decent job buckling down in the red zone this season, and one of their best games of the season came against USC, who was running a very vanilla offense with Matt Barkley out. Arizona State runs a fairly basic pro style offense centered around Danny Sullivan making easy throws and Dimitri Nance getting plenty of carries; Nick Holt could hone in on that and get his unit ready.

While I can see the Sun Devils struggling on offense, I feel like the difference in this game is the Sun Devils defense. Technically, by the numbers, not much separates UW and ASU offensively; Washington gains only about seven more yards per game and has scored three points less per game. The difference? Jake Locker seems to have a killer instinct and the ability to finish drives and capitalize on opportunities; the Sun Devils haven’t really shown that on offense.

Defensively, though, I think the Sun Devils are better equipped than most teams to stop Locker. Sporting the nation’s third ranked defense (only 221.8 yards allowed per game), they have an excellent front seven that will make life very hard for Locker and Chris Polk. Washington scored 14 points at Stanford, 16 points against USC, and 23 points (could have easily been 16 points if not for the late TD) against LSU. That’s about where I see them ending up, in the 14-20 range against a very good defense.

So can ASU crack into the 20s? I say yes. We all have that outstanding effort against USC firmly planted in our brains, but this has not been a good defensive football team, and I think ASU can do just enough.

Prediction: Arizona State 23 – Washington 17

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